South Africa vs United States of America: Waste — Emissions (CO2eq)

South Africa
21,829 kt
in 2023
United States of America
147,890 kt
in 2023
South Africa rank
21st
United States of America rank
16th

Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) over time

  • South Africa
  • United States of America
050.0k100.0k150.0k200.0k250.0k196119922023

How they compare

United States of America currently reports 147,890 kt against 21,829 kt in South Africa, a difference of 126,061 kt.

That makes United States of America's figure about 6.8 times South Africa's.

Across all 63 years both countries report, United States of America has been ahead every year.

South Africa ranks 21st and United States of America ranks 16th of 232 countries.

United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa United States of America Difference Ahead
1960s 4,394 kt 179,859 kt 175,465 kt United States of America
1970s 6,032 kt 233,307 kt 227,275 kt United States of America
1980s 8,206 kt 244,472 kt 236,265 kt United States of America
1990s 11,860 kt 222,272 kt 210,413 kt United States of America
2000s 15,412 kt 162,036 kt 146,623 kt United States of America
2010s 19,581 kt 140,857 kt 121,276 kt United States of America
2020s 21,357 kt 146,641 kt 125,284 kt United States of America

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher waste — emissions (co2eq), South Africa or United States of America?
United States of America, at 147,890 kt against 21,829 kt in South Africa as of 2023.
What is the difference in waste — emissions (co2eq) between South Africa and United States of America?
126,061 kt, with United States of America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and United States of America?
63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
How do South Africa and United States of America rank globally for waste — emissions (co2eq)?
South Africa ranks 21st and United States of America ranks 16th of 232 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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South Africa vs United States of America: Waste — Emissions (CO2eq). Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/compare/waste-emissions-co2eq-ar5-fao-tier-1/south-africa/united-states-of-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
265 places, 15,268 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions Totals summarizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disseminated in the FAOSTAT Climate Change domains of emissions from agrifood systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). Emissions from other economic sectors as defined by the IPCC are also disseminated in the domain for completeness. Methodological details can be found at: https://files-faostat.fao.org/production/GT/GT_en.pdf